Popular Cricket Leagues | Twenty-20 and T10 Series

In this article, you will find information on the worlds’ most popular cricket leagues. Here we covered all the major professional T20 leagues as well as several other formats. You will get tables with lists of teams and winners, schedules and answers to the most frequent questions.

Cricket leagues are conducted all year round. If you are a cricket fan and you like to follow and predict cricket matches’ outcomes you are welcome at Parimatch!

What Are Cricket Leagues?

A cricket league is a format for organizing and conducting cricket competitions. Popular cricket leagues are usually presented in the shortened format of T20 cricket. If you seek a football analog — look at Indian Super League.

Most leagues usually stick to a playoff format. Firstly, the games are held in an all-play-all system. The best four teams have an elimination tournament (single- and double-elimination combined), through which a winner is decided.

Unlike international competitions like India-Australia, a league usually refers to a series of matches between teams belonging to the same region or country. However, there is also a European League involving several European countries, which in fact is closer to a championship.

Best Twenty20 Cricket Leagues In The World

Below you will find basic information on the best Twenty20 cricket leagues. Most of the leagues listed are either domestic or national. You will find summaries on each of them, along with the team lists and tournament tables for the latest seasons.

Indian Premier League (IPL)

Indian Premier League, a.k.a. IPL, is the most popular cricket league, conducted in India since 2007. Eight teams from different states play with each other twice in an all-play-all format. The IPL usually starts in March and ends in May. Due to the pandemic, the 2021 IPL was postponed till September 2021.

Read more about the Indian Premier League and place a bet on IPL.

IPL Teams

IPL Winners

Big Bash League (BBL)

Big Bash League, a.k.a BBL, is a cricket league in Australia that came into existence in 2011. The event’s official sponsor is KFC, and eight teams take part in the competition each year. The format of the competition remains the same: each team confronts every other team two times. In the 2020-21 season, Sydney Sixers became the champions.

BBL Teams

BBL Winners

Pakistan Super League (PSL)

Pakistan Super League, a.k.a PSL, is a professional cricket league held in Pakistan since 2015. Each year, 6 teams from different states participate. PSL utilizes a double round-robin format of the competition.

PSL Teams

PSL Winners

Caribbean Premier League (CPL)

The Caribbean Premier League, a.k.a CPL, is a T20 cricket competition held in the Carribeans since 2013. Since the beginning of its history, six teams have participated in the tournament each year. In 2020, the Trinbago Knight Riders won the CPL champion’s title.

The league sticks to a unique format divided into two stages. At the first (group) stage, each of the teams plays 10 matches, among which 3 are at home, and the second stage is a playoff.

CPL Teams

CPL Winners

Dream11 Super Smash

Super Smash is a New Zealand T20 cricket league founded in 2005. It has changed names and sponsors several times throughout history, with the current official name being Dream11 Super Smash. Six teams compete each year in a double round-robin format with preliminary final and final matches.  As for 2020, the champions were Wellington Firebirds.

Super Smash Teams

Super Smash Winners

T20 Blast

T20 Blast is an English/Welsh cricket tournament held since 2003. Throughout history, it was known by different names, with the original one being the Twenty20 Cup. 18 teams participate each season, and originally, the tournament was organized in a two-divisions format. In 2020, it was changed to three divisions. The winners of the 2020 season were Notts Outlaws.

T20 Blast Teams

T20 Blast Winners

Mzansi Super League (MSL)

Mzansi Super League, a.k.a MSL, is a South African cricket league that started in 2018. Six teams from different cities compete for the title. During the tournament, each team plays with each other twice (home and away), with the best three teams going to playoffs. The 2020 season was postponed because of the pandemic.

MSL Teams

MSL Winners

Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)

The Bangladesh Premier League, a.k.a BPL, is a professional cricket tournament in Bangladesh, created in 2011. The contest is held annually in November, with seven teams participating. The round-robin competition is followed by the finals with the four best teams competing. In the 2019-20 season, Rajhashi Royals became the BPL champions for the first time.

BPL Teams

BPL Winners

SLPL (First and Only Edition in 2012)

The Sri Lanka Premier League, or SLPL, was played only once in 2012. Its original purpose was to serve as a substitute for Inter-Provincial Twenty20 competition. Seven teams participated in the tournament held in August. Organisational problems and lack of sponsorship caused the latter seasons of SLPL to be cancelled.

SLPL Teams

SLPL Winners

The Lanka Premier League (LPL)

The Lanka Premier League, a.k.a LPL, is a cricket tournament in Sri Lanka first held in 2020.

Five teams participated in the first season. The Jaffna Stallions became the first LPL champions. The LPL is planned to be conducted every year, and the number of teams is going to be changed to six.

LPL Teams

LPL Winners

Euro T20 Slam

The Euro T20 Slam is a professional European cricket tournament that was planned to be launched in 2019. Six teams were to compete, and the hosting countries should have been Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands. Although the tournament started in 2019, it was disrupted because of the COVID pandemic. Euro T20 Slam is to be continued in 2021.

Euro T20 Slam Teams

Afghanistan Premier League (APL)

The Afghanistan Premier League, a.k.a APL, is a professional cricket tournament held in 2018 in UAE. Five teams competed in a round-robin format, and the Balkh Legends became the first champions. The second APL season was meant to be held in 2019, but now it is postponed, probably till 2021.

APL Teams

APL Winners

Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20)

The Champions League Twenty20, a.k.a CLT20, was a professional international cricket tournament hosted by organizations from India, Australia, and South Africa. It took place every autumn from 2009 to 2014. In total, more than 30 teams participated. Chennai Super Kings became the champions of the last season of CLT20.

CLT20 Teams

CLT20 Winners

Global T20 Canada (GT20)

Global T20 Canada, a.k.a GT20, is a Canadian cricket competition that was founded in 2018. Two seasons of tournaments were conducted, with six teams taking part in each. The Vancouver Knights became the champions of the first season, and Winnipeg Hawks of the second one.

GT20 Teams

GT20 Winners

Most Popular Cricket Non T20 Leagues And Tournaments

The franchises listed below do not have an official T20 status recognised by the International Cricket Council. Some of them are semi-professional or amateur. Most of them stick to the T10 or T20 format.

European Cricket League T10 (ECL)

European Cricket League or ECL is a T10 format cricket tournament that traces back to 2018 and aims to enhance cricket’s popularity in Europe. In the first season, eight teams from various countries participated. Divided into two groups, they played 17 matches in total, with the Netherlands (VOC Rotterdam) becoming the champion. You can also follow Great Britain. Women. The Hundred.

The 2020 season of European League T10 was cancelled.

T10 League

T10 League is a cricket league in UAE that started in 2017. Matches are played in the T10 format, and eight teams from different countries participate. The competition format consists of all-play all tournament, eliminators, and the finals. In 2021, Northern Warriors became the champions for the second time.

Qatar T10 League

Qatar T10 League, a.k.a QT10 League, is a professional cricket league founded in Doha, Qatar, in 2019. Six teams participate in the tournament. The International Cricket Council officially recognizes the League, and the champion of the 2020 season was Falcon Hunters.

The Hundred

The Hundred is an English/Welsh professional cricket franchise tournament. Eight teams are to compete for the champion’s title, playing in 100-ball format. The first season of The Hundred was to be held in 2020. Due to the pandemic, it was rescheduled to the summer of 2021.

Hong Kong T20 Blitz

Hong Kong T20 Blitz is a no longer existing cricket competition in Hong Kong. It was held in 2016-2018 to promote cricket in Hong Kong and the nearby regions. Five teams participated in the tournament. In 2018, Hung Hom JD Jaguars won the champion’s title.

Everest Premier League (EPLT20)

Everest Premier League, a.k.a. EPLT20, is the biggest cricket league in Nepal, founded in 2016. Six teams competed in the first season. All the EPLT20 matches are played in winter. The current champion of EPLT20 is Lalitpur Patriots.

World Cricket League (WCL)

The World Cricket League is a no longer existing cricket league that was held in 2007-2019. The WCL was created to serve as a tool for qualifying teams for the World Cup and to provide them with a chance to experience games under similar standards.

In the beginning, WCL had five divisions, but later on, this number grew to 10 and reduced again to 5. The divisions were followed by a World Cup Qualifier. In 2019 the system was replaced by League 2 of the Cricket World Cup.

WCL Global Ranking

Other Leagues and Series

Here are some other notable leagues to follow.

Women’s Big Bash League

Women’s Big Bash League is an Australian semi-professional cricket league, which started in 2015. It was created to replace the Australian Women’s Twenty20 Cup. In the 2020 season, the Sydney Thunder became the champions.

Women’s Cricket Super League

Women’s Cricket Super League (WCSL), a.k.a. Kia Super League, was an English/Welsh semi-professional cricket league that existed from 2016-2019.  Six domestic teams competed for four seasons, with the Western Storm becoming the last trophy holders. It is planned to be replaced by The Hundred franchise.

Celebrity Cricket League

Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) is an Indian domestic cricket league founded in 1986. Since then, 15 amateur teams consisting of movie actors compete for the champion’s title every year. The Telugu Warriors, the most successful among the teams, became the champion again in 2020.

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FAQ

How many cricket leagues are there in India?

Currently, there are 12 active cricket leagues in India.

Which is the world’s number 1 cricket league?

The most popular cricket league in the world is the Indian Premier League, a.k.a IPL.

Which are the top cricket leagues?

The world’s top cricket leagues are the following:

• Indian Premier League (IPL),
• Big Bash League (BBL),
• Pakistan Super League (PSL),
• West Indies. Caribbean Premier League,
• Super Smash,
• T20 Blast, Mzansi Super League (MSL),
• Bangladesh Premier League (BPL),
• Lanka Premier League (LPL),
• Euro T20 Slam.

Are there any other cricket premier leagues like IPL?

There is a number of professional cricket leagues, like Tamil Nadu Premier League, starring top teams. For T20 leagues, you can find the list above.

How many cricket leagues are there?

Currently, there are more than 40 cricket leagues played around the world. Watch and bet on them at Parimatch. And don’t forget that there is a T20 World Cup betting available too!

Why doesn’t cricket implement a league system like football?

Unlike football, cricket is played in three different formats. Two of those formats (ODI and Test) matches take too long to be organized into tournaments inside a united league system.

What is the main purpose of cricket leagues?

The main purpose of domestic cricket leagues is to discover talents for the national team. International cricket leagues help to popularise cricket around the world.

Is IPL better than BBL?

Compared to BBL, IPL has higher attendance and involves more star players. Also, the amount of prize funds is larger in IPL.

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